Syria strike opposed

Residents gather at Albany, Scotia rallies against military action

By Matthew Hamilton

Updated 9:24 pm, Saturday, August 31, 2013

Marc Violette of Albany, left, his wife, Margaret Lanoue, center, and Maud Easter of Delmar attend a rally against military action in Syria on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at Townsend Park in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Marc Violette of Albany, left, his wife, Margaret Lanoue, center,...

Linda LeTendre of Saratoga Springs, center, shows emotion and receives support from Drake Rudolph, 17, of Schenectady, second from right, during a rally against military action in Syria on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at Collins Park in Scotia, N.Y. Emily Costa, 17, of Schenectady, right, organized the event. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Linda LeTendre of Saratoga Springs, center, shows emotion and...

Mabel Leon of Schenectady, left, and Tom Heckman of East Schodack, right, attend a rally against military action in Syria on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at Townsend Park in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Mabel Leon of Schenectady, left, and Tom Heckman of East Schodack,...

Residents hold a rally against military action in Syria on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at Collins Park in Scotia, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Residents hold a rally against military action in Syria on...

Steve Moss of Hadley, left, attends a rally against military action in Syria on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at Collins Park in Scotia, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Steve Moss of Hadley, left, attends a rally against military action...

Syrian native Fadia Rostom of Pittsfield, Mass., second from right,...

Dan Plaat of Albany, left, shows solidarity when he elicits a honk from a passing motorist during a rally against military action in Syria on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at Townsend Park in Albany, N.Y. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Dan Plaat of Albany, left, shows solidarity when he elicits a honk...

Syrian native Hassan Ziud of Pittsfield, Mass., center, speaks during a rally against military action in Syria on Saturday, Aug. 31, 2013, at Townsend Park in Albany, N.Y. Joining him is Joe Lombardo of Delmar, right, who is with the United Antiwar Coalition. (Cindy Schultz / Times Union)

Syrian-American Fadia Rostom hopes to have a chance to speak with her family Sunday.

But she fears that as the Syrian conflict escalates and the United States nears military involvement, that opportunity may be in jeopardy.

"Almost my whole family is in Syria," the Pittsfield, Mass., resident told a crowd of roughly 60 people who gathered in Townsend Park Saturday afternoon for a rally against U.S. involvement in Syria. "I hope to wake up tomorrow and say 'Good morning,' or 'I love you.'"

Rostom was one of a group of Syrian immigrants who spoke at the rally and joined area residents in calling for the United States to keep missiles and troops out of the war-torn Middle Eastern nation.

But while they rallied, President Barack Obama said he is ready to take military action against Syrian President Bashar Assad's regime, although he will ask for congressional approval.

Some protesters called for the United States to look back at its own history of chemical-weapons use — citing the use of napalm in Vietnam and more recently white phosphorous in Iraq in 2004 — before moving to strike in response to alleged chemical weapons use by the Assad regime. Others, like Michael Rice of Delmar, who fled Germany during World War II because he is Jewish, questioned the effect of military action on Syrian children.

"I know what it's like to be a 10-year-old boy and get bombed," he said. "You're very sick from it. I'm afraid that the 10-year-old boys there are going to feel our bombs and are not going to be our buddies for the rest of our lives."

Event organizer and Palestinian-Syrian Eddie Alkurabi of Albanysaid he has family in Syria and his uncle was recently shot and killed despite not being a part of the fighting. He said he spoke for his family members because they can't speak out in Syria and called for Syrians to put down their weapons and engage in civil disobedience in hopes of de-escalating conflict.

Rodriguez also said the United States has an opportunity to show how to peaceably diffuse the situation.

"We can show you don't have to punch Jimmy in the face for taking your pencil," he said.

Back in Albany, Syrian-American Hassan Ziud of Pittsfield, Mass., told the crowd that Friday night he thought about what would happen if a U.S. missile accidentally struck his family's home in Syria. "The Syrian people have struggled over the past two and a half years," he said. "We don't need more struggle."